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This week, hear Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones at The Guild and catch Kronos Quartet celebrating a big anniversary at Stanford Live. Also, author Mike Chen is at Books Inc. Palo Alto to share his latest book, about a romance that grows between strangers caught in a time loop at a Bay Area particle accelerator, and Palo Alto Children’s Theatre debuts a musical inspired by the meerkats at the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo.
Rickie Lee Jones
The Guild Theatre will host an evening with singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, whose long musical career incorporates pop and jazz sounds. Lauded throughout the decades, she’s been nominated for eight Grammy Awards, won two (including Best New Artist for her 1979 self-titled debut) and is currently up for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her 2023 release, “Pieces of Treasure.” According to Jones’ website, “Pieces of Treasure” is her first album dedicated entirely to American jazz standards, and the title is a callback to her seminal second album, “Pirates.”Â
Jan. 31, 8 p.m., The Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, $63 (standing room only). guildtheatre.com
‘Meerkats – The Musical’
Maybe you’ve seen “The Lion King” or “Meerkat Manor”? Well, get ready for the next big meerkats in show business. Palo Alto Children’s Theatre presents a world-premiere new musical, inspired by the real-life meerkats in residence at the nearby Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. “Meerkats – The Musical” was written by Gary Wright and Deborah Wicks La Puma and features a trio of singing meerkats learning about friendship and acceptance.
Jan. 26-Feb. 12, Palo Alto Children’s Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, $17, cityofpaloalto.org.
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet, the renowned San Francisco string quartet known for its interesting collaborations and genre-blending-and-bending sounds, has been around now for a half century. To celebrate its 50 years, the group (David Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola and Paul Wiancko on cello) will present its “Five Decades” program, including signature pieces plus a new commission. Movement artist Eiko Otake and vocalist-harmonium player Mariana Sadovska will join as special guests. After the concert there will be a post-performance talk – “Artists Respond to Climate Change and Nuclear Disaster” – moderated by Kyoko Sato, the associate director of Stanford University’s Program in Science, Technology and Society.
Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m., Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford, $15-$64, live.stanford.edu.
Mike Chen
Peninsula sci-fi and fantasy author Mike Chen writes novels with far-out frameworks but character and relationship-driven stories (and, usually, local settings). His latest book, “A Quantum Love Story,” focuses on the growing bond between two strangers who are caught up in a time loop stemming from a bizarre incident at a Bay Area particle accelerator. A New York Times bestselling writer, Chen’s other books include “Star Wars: Brotherhood,” “Here and Now and Then,” “Vampire Weekend,” “We Could Be Heroes,” “Light Years From Home,” and “A Beginning At The End.” He’ll appear in conversation with fellow author Kristin Baver at Books Inc, Palo Alto.
Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., Books Inc. Palo Alto, 855 El Camino Real #74, booksinc.net.
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